Limax is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae.
| Limax | |
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| Limax maximus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Limacidae |
| Subfamily: | Limacinae |
| Genus: | Limax Linnaeus, 1758[1] |
| Species | |
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at least 33, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
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List
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The generic name Limax literally means "slug".
Some species, such as the leopard slug (L. maximus) and the tawny garden slug (Limacus flavus), are beneficial for the garden.[2]
The genus Limax sensu stricto is probably monophyletic.[3]
Distribution
editThis genus is native to Europe, but at least one species (L. maximus) has been introduced into North America.
Species
editThe genus Limax includes at least 33 species:[4]
- Limax aeolianus Giusti, 1973
- Limax albipes Dumont & Mortillet, 1853
- Limax amaliae Bettoni, 1870
- Limax bielzii Seibert, 1873
- Limax brandstetteri Falkner, 2008[5]
- Limax camerani Lessona & Pollonera, 1882
- Limax canapicianus Pollonera, 1885
- Limax cephalonicus Simroth, 1886
- Limax ciminensis Pollonera, 1890
- Limax cinereoniger Wolf, 1803 (syn. Limax alpinus Férussac, 1822)[6]
- Limax conemenosi Böttger, 1882
- Limax corsicus Moquin-Tandon, 1855
- Limax dacampi Menegazzi, 1854
- Limax dacampi dacampi Menegazzi, 1855
- Limax dobrogicus Grossu & Lupu, 1960
- Limax doriae Bourguignat, 1861
- Limax engadinensis Heynemann, 1863
- Limax erythrus Bourguignat, 1864
- Limax gerhardti Niethammer, 1937
- Limax giovannellae Falkner & Niederhöfer, 2008
- Limax giustii Falkner & Nitz, 2010
- Limax graciadeii Gerhardt, 1940
- Limax graecus Simroth, 1889
- Limax granosus Bérenguier, 1900
- Limax hemmeni Rähle, 1983
- Limax ianninii Giusti, 1973
- Limax ilvensis Falkner & Nitz, 2010
- Limax lachensis Bérenguier, 1900
- Limax luctuosus Moquin-Tandon, 1855
- Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758 - great grey slug
- Limax millipunctatus Pini, 1885
- Limax monolineatus Bettoni, 1870
- Limax monregalensis Lessona & Pollonera, 1882
- Limax pironae Pini, 1876
- Limax polipunctatus Pollonera, 1888
- Limax punctulatus Sordelli, 1871
- Limax redii Gerhardt, 1933
- Limax samensis Heim & Nitz, 2009[6]
- Limax squamosus Bérenguier, 1900
- Limax strobeli Pini, 1876
- Limax subalpinus Lessona, 1880
- Limax tschapecki Simroth, 1886
- Limax veronensis Lessona & Pollonera, 1882
- Limax vizzavonensis Falkner & Nitz, 2010
- Limax wohlberedti Simroth, 1900
- Limax wolterstorffi Simroth, 1900
- Limax zilchi Grossu & Lupu, 1960
Subgenus Limacus (more often today treated as its own genus)
edit- Limax ecarinatus Boettger, 1881: synonym of Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko, 1851)
- Limax flavus Linnaeus, 1758 yellow garden slug, tawny garden slug: synonym of Limacus flavus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
edit- Limax marginatus Müller, 1774 is a synonym for Lehmannia marginata (Müller, 1774)
- Limax valentianus Férussac, 1822 is a synonym for Ambigolimax valentianus (Férussac, 1822)
- Limax nyctelius Bourguignat, 1861 is now placed in the genus Letourneuxia but the name has been used for Lehmannia carpatica (Bourguignat, 1861) and Ambigolimax waterstoni Hutchinson, Reise & Schlitt, 2022[7]
References
edit- ^ Linnaeus C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. pp. [1-4], 1-824. Holmiae. (Salvius).
- ^ Woman, Bug (2020-12-06). "London Natural History Society Talk – 'Slimy, Sticky and Unloved – Slugs in London' by Imogen Cavadino". Bug Woman - Adventures in London. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ Klee, B. 2006 Towards a phylogeny of Limax (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora). Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine The Malacologist. Molluscan Forum 2006.
- ^ Species in genus Limax. AnimalBase. Accessed 5 May 2009.
- ^ Falkner, G. (2008). Limax (Limax) brandstetteri n. sp. – ein neuer Hochgebirgsschnegel aus den Abruzzen (Gastropoda: Limacidae). Limax (Limax) brandstetteri n. sp. – a new high mountain slug from the Abruzzi Mountains (Gastropoda: Limacidae). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie. 1: 133-142.
- ^ a b Nitz, B., et al. (2009). Towards a new standard in slug species descriptions: the case of Limax sarnensis Heim & Nitz n. sp. (Pulmonata: Limacidae) from the Western Central Alps. Journal of Molluscan Studies 75(3): 279-294. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyp030.
- ^ Hutchinson, John M.C.; Reise, Heike; Schlitt, Bettina (30 June 2022). "Will the real Limax nyctelius please step forward: Lehmannia, Ambigolimax, or Malacolimax? No, Letourneuxia!". Archiv für Molluskenkunde. 151 (1): 19–41. doi:10.1127/arch.moll/151/019-041. S2CID 250188836.